The Medieval Age stretched from the early emergence of Christian Europe in the sixth and seventh centuries to the dawn of the Renaissance in the fifteenth century. Some have characterized this period as a “dark age,” with Europe struggling to maintain some manner of civilization after the decline of the Western Roman Empire. Aspects of Roman life remained, however, and the Roman Catholic Church united the various societies of western Europe under a cultural umbrella. This unification began with the monasteries, which served as centers that helped connect part of western Europe to the seat of the church, in Rome. Thousands of parishes and priests reached into the lives of nearly every European man, woman, and child. The church would also become deeply involved in the politics and economics of this era, with the power and wealth of popes and bishops rivaling that of kings and lords.